Millville man, 36, killed by police gunfire in Bridgeton

A Bridgeton police vehicle drives through the intersection of South Avenue and Henry Street on Wednesday, hours after a man was fatally shot there by city police during a traffic stop.(Photo: Staff photo/Craig Matthews)Buy Photo

Two Bridgeton police officers fired their guns at a 36-year-old Millville man, killing him during a traffic stop late Tuesday night at a residential intersection, the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office said.

Jerame C. Reid, whose last known address is on North 2nd Street in Millville, died after the officers opened fire on him as he sat in a car about 9:20 p.m. at Henry Street and South Avenue, according to Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae.

"During the course of the stop a handgun was revealed and later recovered," Webb-McRae said.

Bridgeton police Capt. Michael A. Gaimari said Reid was in possession of a handgun.

However, neither Gaimari nor the prosecutor said whether the weapon was discovered before or after the shooting.

A second person in the car — the driver — wasn't hit by the gunfire and was taken into custody by city police, two witnesses told The Daily Journal. Authorities did not identify that person.

The two officers who fired their service weapons, Braheme Days and Roger Worley, have been placed on administrative leave, Webb-McRae said. The prosecutor's office is leading the investigation into the incident.

The beginnings of a vigil were at the scene Wednesday afternoon, with two candles placed on each side of a large bloodstain.

Zakeeda Hill and her 12-year-old cousin, Josh Scurry, who live across the street, said they saw both officers pull up behind the vehicle and surround the driver and passenger sides Tuesday night.

"The boy said, 'We ain't got nothing, why you pulling us over?'" Hill, 28, said. "Then they just killed that boy. They let so many shots off, it happened so fast."

Scurry said he saw the driver raise his hands out the window after the officers drew their weapons.

"The cop just said, 'Don't you f'ing move,'" Scurry said.

"They didn't even give them a chance to do anything," Hill said of the officers.

Hill and Scurry agreed they heard at least seven gunshots.

"It happened so fast," Hill said. "It didn't make no sense."

After the shooting, Hill said, an officer opened the driver's side door and the driver "rolled out," apparently unscathed. He then was handcuffed, she said.

Hill, who described her neighborhood as mostly quiet, was saddened by the shooting.

"Never in a million years did I think this would happen in my backyard," she said. "They're supposed to protect and serve. Somebody just lost a brother, a son, somebody lost a father. That ain't right. What is this world coming to? What kind of justice are we going to get now?"

"No one deserves to be killed like that," she told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

An autopsy of Reid was scheduled for Wednesday.

Webb-McRae said her office has opened a "use of deadly force investigation," as per state guidelines. The New Jersey State Police Crime Scene Investigation is assisting, she said.

WHERE TO CALL

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact either Special Agent in Charge E. Ronald Cuff at (856) 453-0486, ext. 11170 or (609) 381-4890; or Sgt. Michael Donato at (856) 453-0486, ext. 13608 or (609) 381-4920.